Torcher Parade

Saturday night was the annual Aberdeen Torcher Parade. That's "torcher", not "torture!" It is the largest torch-led charity parade in the UK, and it's presented by the University of Aberdeen. Each of the University clubs creates a float on the back of a lolly (18-wheeler), and some club members walk along beside the floats carrying buckets and collecting pennies from the crowd for local charities. I met Amie, Carrie, and Carrie's two boys downtown for the parade on saturday evening. The parade itself wasn't all that exciting. The best part was the bagpipe band that led off the parade. The floats themselves were actually kind of lame, mostly decorated with cardboard and based on various movies, like Shrek, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Happy Feet. But the boys loved it, and it was fun just being out experiencing it with my friends. We actually watched the whole parade as it started at Marischal College, then walked over to Union Street to catch it coming by the second time. The first time it was too light for the torches to be lit, but the second time a group of marchers carrying torches walked in front. You can't go to a torcher parade and not see the torches!

Spring Senses

This weekend I had a little bit of spring fever. Friday was absolutely gorgeous here in Aberdeen! I ate lunch outside on campus, and then went back in and attempted to concentrate on my work and NOT look out the window at the lovely day. It worked until about 3:00, and then I couldn't stand it any longer. I went home, grabbed a towel, rolled up my jeans, and sat outside on the lawn reading for about an hour till the wind made me too chilled. Ah, so nice!

My flatmate Anna and I had made plans to go to Fort George this weekend, a military base on the Moray Firth, but it didn't work out. I had invited my friend Amie to go with us, so we decided to go to a castle on our own, but at the last minute she changed her mind too. Seems everyone decided to be scholarly this weekend! Not me! Weekends are my time to explore, not to work, and saturday was too beautiful to stay inside! So I ventured off on my own. The castle Amie and I were going to visit was about 2 hours away by bus (and the bus ride was 24.50 - in pounds!) so I went to Crathes Castle, one I had already visited in the winter but that is closer to home.

The walk from where the bus let me off to the castle itself is about a mile, so I took the woodland trail, enjoying nature as I made the trek through the castle grounds. Crathes Castle is probably best known for its gardens, but when I was there before they weren't in bloom. Not this time! They were lovely! I wandered around for a couple of hours in the gardens and on the grounds, had a picnic lunch, took a short walk up to the lookout point for a view of the hills, and then headed back to the bus stop. Since I got there early, I walked down by the River Dee for a few minutes. Overall, it was a great day outdoors, and I enjoyed it even though I was on my own. Here are a few of my observations:

The smell of woodsy pine and the sweet fragrance of the many flowers...

The sound of birds singing, bees buzzing, and the river rolling by...The vibrant colors of the garden flowers were so pleasing to the eye, especially the largest tulips I've ever in my life seen...

The feel of the warm sun and cool breeze on my face...

The Reaping

I know, I haven't had much interesting to blog about lately. But yesterday my friend Amie and I went to see the movie The Reaping. In it these Exodus-type plagues starting taking place in a small village in Louisiana, and a skeptic is called in to find out what is causing them. Well, since I'm in the midst of writing a paper about the Exodus-plague imagery in Revelation, I counted it as research time. Okay, not really, but still, it was quite timely. Anyway, this movie was extremely creapy. I had a death-grip on the arm rest the entire time, and kept saying "don't open the door," "don't go in there," etc. Of course, they never listened to me! (I don't like scary movies!) So I found it interesting how they portrayed the Exodus plagues. They certainly took some liberties. For instance, a lot of the plagues affected only certain characters, and the boils and locusts actually killed, which doesn't take place in Exodus. Also, they combined the plague of hail and fire with the plague of darkness, and switched the order. Of course, my mind is so steeped in the plague imagery right now that I was thinking, "That's not right! Darkness doesn't come yet!" Well, I don't think they were trying to be biblically accurate. And to their credit, they're not the first to take liberties with the plagues. John certainly does in Revelation, and the author of Wisdom of Solomon does too. Of course, these movie writers are not divinely inspired, either. Anyway, it was certainly a movie to make you think, and if you like scary movies, then I would recommend it. It was quite suspenseful, that's for sure. If , however, you're like me, I would suggest staying away from The Reaping, especially at night. It might cause a few nightmares!

By the way, I hope to go to a castle this weekend, so look for a more typical post with pictures sometime soon!

Weekend and misc

I usually use my weekends to get out and explore a castle or natural attraction here in Scotland. This weekend, not so much. My friend Laurie (who I visited in Banchory for Easter) is out of town, and another friend Amie is "cottage-sitting" for her. So I went down to Banchory on Friday for a relaxing weekend in the country. We had planned to do another hike up Scolty Hill, or walk around the village, or something. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. It was quite cloudy, cool, and dark when I arrived on Friday afternoon, and overnight the rain settled in. It rained almost all day on Saturday. So what did we do? We talked, and talked, and talked some more! It was really good to just visit with a new friend and have no agenda, no place to go, nothing pressing on our time. We didn't even get out of our pajamas on Saturday until 4:00! So, not exactly the weekend I had planned, but a welcome one nonetheless.

When I arrived in Banchory on Friday, Amie met me at the bus stop and we walked back to the cottage. On the way there is a field where a "family" of highland cattle live. I stopped to take a couple of pictures. They're not as close-up as I wanted, but they're a start.

Oh, here's a picture of me with my flatmate Emma in our University of Aberdeen "jumpers". Not a high picture-taking weekend, but hopefully in the next couple of weeks I'll have more opportunities for photography.

Day 13 - Last Day in London

For those of you who have been following my family's trip to Scotland and England on my blog, you may wonder what happened to Day 12. Well, I was actually able to blog about that day DURING our trip (see earlier post entitled "London Adventures"). So, here's a summary of our last day...

We headed first to Kensington Palace, one of the official residences of the royal family and the place where Princess Diana lived. The best part about our tour of this palace, at least in my opinion, was the stunning photographs of Princess Di, and the collection of her dresses. We also saw a lot of antique furniture, painted ceilings, etc., that are usually a part of tours of castles and palaces. After we finished the tour (which took a lot longer than I expected), we ventured out into Hyde Park to see the Princess Diana memorial fountain. I must say, it was quite unimpressive, and I thought a memorial to such an incredible lady should have had much more to it. The fountain was really just this ring in which water flowed over various textured areas to give a ripple effect. It was really modern compared to other monuments or memorials in the city. We then headed back to the Westminster area to get our tickets for the Thames River Cruise. While we waited for our departure time we wandered down the River walkway, seeing the memorial to the Battle of Britain and the Jubilee Walkway, a footbridge that crosses the Thames . I wanted to continue down to Cleopatra's Needle and the sphinxes, but we ran out of time.

The river cruise was a lot of fun and gave us the opportunity to see up-close certain places that we had not been able to visit (Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Cleopatra's Needle), and to get a different view of other major landmarks (Tower Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, etc.). The guide was quite humorous, and the weather was fabulous, so we really enjoyed being out on the river. Our cruise took us from just below Big Ben and Parliament all the way under Tower Bridge, where we turned around and received a lovely view of the bridge.

Finally, we headed to Piccadilly Circus for an early dinner at TGI Fridays, then back to the hotel to pack, since we all had early flights the next morning. Overall, we had a wonderful trip, saw SO many sights and really enjoyed it. I think Mom and Papa were ready to go home by the last couple of days - two weeks is a long time - but we made the most of every opportunity. It was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime chance to tour these two amazing countries, and I'm glad I was able to share it with my family.

Halfway!

Well, today is the halfway point in my time in Aberdeen! Now I can start counting down the days till I get to return to the good old U S of A! 84 days... that sounds like a really long time, a lot longer that 2 1/2 months. Maybe I won't start counting the days themselves yet.

Anyway, in honor of reaching the halfway point, I've been reflecting on the things that I will miss when I leave here, as well as the things I won't miss and the things that I have missed terribly from the States and that I'm looking forward to upon my return. Here are my thoughts:

Things that I will miss about Aberdeen/Scotland when I leave:

1. Hearing that Scottish accent all the time
2. All of the incredible places I see all around me and have the opportunity to visit while I'm here. Everything here is so old, it's amazing. We have nothing like it in the States, because our country is so young comparatively. And travel is easier here - they go from country to country like we go from state to state.
3. Having a group of fellow female post-grad in divinity students to share research ideas, talk with about various issues related to divinity study, etc. That's one of the best things I've found about being here - the friends I've made.
4. Being able to research and study all day without having to work 40 hours a week!
5. Caramel shortcakes - this is one of my two main addictions since I've been here. Graham cracker crust, topped with a thick layer of caramel and a thin layer of chocolate. Divine! Even the lowfat version from Asda is so rich I can only eat one at a time.
6. Walker's lime and thai spice crisps (potato chips) - my other addiction - so good!

Things I won't miss about Aberdeen/Scotland:

1. Being constantly bombarded by cigarette smoke wherever I walk.
2. Living in the dorm. Okay, the girls I live with are great, but goodness, I can't wait to have my own bathroom, kitchen, bedroom that's bigger than a closet, and a couch!
3. The cold. This winter has been really mild here, but it's still colder than I'm used to. And the wind really makes it feel frigid sometimes.
4. Having to rely on public transportation or walk everywhere.
5. The food - or the lack of good food, I should say.
6. Pounds Sterling - everything here is twice as expensive as at home!

Things I'm looking forward to when I get home (not necessarily in any particular order):

1. Pickles! Pickles! and more pickles! I have gone through serious withdrawals! I bought a couple of different jars of what I thought might pass for pickles, but they were nasty! I go to Subway or McDonalds just to get pickles on my sandwich. And try as I might, I just can't seem to get anyone to mail me a jar of pickles. You'd think my friends and family would love me enough to do that! =)
2. Red Hot & Blue - my favorite. That will be one of my first stops when I get back to Ft. Worth, for sure!
3. Setting up my new apartment and getting settled back into a routine again. And having space and privacy!
4. Driving! I miss my Jeep and the independence it provides. We take having a vehicle for granted in America. Hope I can remember how to drive on the right side of the road!
5. Earning an income again - not the earning part, but the income! And the Dollar bill! It will be nice to not have to pay double for everything.
6. Shopping at Kohl's for new clothes. I've lost some weight since I've been here, and all my clothes are baggy on me. But the fashion here is rather dismal, and I haven't been able to find any new clothes that I would consider wearing. So I'm just going baggy for a couple more months.
7. Wedgwood Baptist Church - I miss my church! My children's choir, my friends, the adult choir, the church library, singing music I actually know, hearing good text-centred sermons that are meaty and help me grow in my faith.
8. Scrapbooking - man have I missed that! This blog is helping though, because it's kind of like digital scrapbooking, in a way. One thing's for sure, it's going to take me a LONG time to get caught up with my scrapbooks, considering the vast number of pictures I've taken over here.
9. My friends and family - probably the hardest thing about being here is not having access to my frinds and family whenever I want to talk to them. Phone calls are so expensive, so I don't get to talk as often as I want. And of course I can't see or hang out with anyone from home. Skype has been a wonderful thing - it has made life so much better - but it's not the same as chatting on the cell phone with my mom as I drive home from church or wherever. We have to coordinate times with the time-difference, and I have to go to the hotspot and get online in order to chat. It will be nice to not have those factors making communication difficult.

I'm certain there are more things I miss from home, and that there are other things I'll miss from here. But these are the ones that come to mind at the moment. So 84 days and counting... I have a lot planned in the meantime, so hopefully the time will pass quickly. I'm sure that all too soon I will be packing up and wondering where the time went. But right now, I'm in the hotspot, my laptop battery is about to die, and it's time to go up to my little box that I call a dorm room and get ready for another day. Ah, the life of a student...

Days 10 and 11 - London

I am combining days 10 and 11 into one blog, since there's not a whole lot to say about day 10. That day we left York early and started our drive south to London. We really didn't do any stopping along the way, unfortunately. I had hoped for a detour to Oxford, but it was not to be. We were all ready to just get to London and settle in for the last leg of our trip. When we finally reached the outskirts of London, driving got very interesting. We missed several turns, did several u-turns, and probably wasted about an hour trying to find our hotel. Dad quickly decided that we were going to turn in the rental car as quickly as possible and just rely on the buses and the underground for transportation. That turned out to be a great decision, because the London drivers were crazy! So we unloaded the rental car at the rather unattractive hotel and headed for Heathrow Airport to get rid of the car. That consumed a large portion of our afternoon, but we did finally make it to downtown London and see a few sights before crashing for the evening. We had dinner in Piccadilly Circus at a place known for their ribs and American cuisine. It was good, but nowhere near as tasty as The Hole in the Wall in York. Then we decided to take the bus and see the major sights by night. We rode through Trafalgar Square to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, then changed buses to pass St. Paul's Cathedral and walk around briefly at the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Everything was all lit up, and it was a lovely evening, not too cold. Unfortunately, that didn't last.
When we got up the next morning, we were anticipating nice warm weather like we'd had the last couple of days. So we all took our lightweight jackets as we headed out. That was a mistake, because between the light mist, the cold, and the strong winds, we FROZE! We didn't let that stop us from seeing the sights though. Our first stop was St. Paul's Cathedral, Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece. It is an amazing cathedral, which was unfortunately partially concealed by scaffolding. It seems that scaffolding followed us to a lot of the sights we visited on this trip. By the way, the statue outside St. Paul's Cathedral (see photo below) is where Julie Andrews sang "Feed the Birds" in Mary Poppins. At St. Paul's, Mom and Papa looked around on the main floor while Dad, Ben, and I took the 434 stairs up to the Whispering Gallery (which put us very close to the beautiful mosaics on the interior of the dome ceiling) and the Stone Gallery and Golden Gallery, both of which are on the outside of the dome and gave us the opportunity to see incredible panoramic views of the city. It took us about an hour to climb all the way up, see the sights outside, and come back down. It was worth it, though my legs were incredibly shaky for a while afterwards.
From there we headed to the Tower Bridge Exhibit, where we got to go into the two towers, learn about how Tower Bridge was created and how the drawbridge works, and walk across the pedestrian walkways at the top for more amazing views of the Thames and the city.
Even though it was bitter cold outside, we were not about to miss the opportunity to see the Tower Bridge drawbridge raise that afternoon. So we quickly loaded up on hot drinks and grabbed a spot by the railing to watch as the bridge raised to allow the HMS Northumberland to pass. This may not seem to be that big of deal, but the Tower Bridge drawbridge only raises about once a day, so we were excited to see it.

From there we headed into the Tower of London, where we saw one of the guards feeding the ravens. Legend says if the ravens leave the tower grounds, London will fall, so the ravens' wings are clipped to keep them in. We waited in line for the torture exhibit in the Bloody Tower, which was not all that great, and then went to view the Crown Jewels of England - they're incredible! After a brief walk through the artillery and arms exhibit in White Tower, we were all ready for dinner.

After dinner we decided to split up. Dad and Papa needed to do a "recon" to make sure they knew how to get to Gatwick Airport by tube/train on Friday, and Mom and I needed to make a trip to Harrod's. Okay, "need" may be too strong a word, but it was the perfect opportunity. Ben went with us, and we spent about half an hour exploring just a small portion of that amazing store. I must say, I like Harrod's better when it's all decorated for Christmas and it has Christmas ornaments available for purchase. But even in spring it is unlike any store I've ever been to in the States.Finally we headed back to the hotel for a snack of Krispy Kreme donuts (Dad and Papa found them in the tube station) and a good night's sleep.